Real Road Test: A beige Maestro City! Blanking plugs ahoy

Yes, it's pure austerity on wheels - a BEIGE 1987 Maestro City. That's the base spec model, though with the optional luxury of a rear wiper! With a mere 27,000 miles on the clock, this example is in great condition and gives an ideal opportunity to sample what could have been a great car.
It's for sale! www.ebay.co.uk...
BIG thanks to the excellent aronline.co.uk website for some of the facts in this video. Far more history there than I could ever include in one of my videos.
Delightful HubNut goodies can be purchased at hubnut.org where you'll also find support options.
Or, support HubNut at / hubnut or via Channel memberships: / @hubnut
Don't forget to like the video if you like it, and share with your friends if you really like it! Thank you all.

[@MrWarneet]

The camera operator brings it to the next level, well done.

[@colinjones2505]

Yes, was that Miss Hubnut I wonder?

[@RichieRouge206]

Yes noticed that, adds an element of dynamics - like it!

[@HubNut]

It was Miss HubNut. Great work!

[@The_Car_Stalker]

Yes i was thinking the same, good camera work makes a big difference. Much less ducking to get in frame!

[@seancooke4127]

@@HubNut did she like the Maestro?

[@carlbarton772]

I purchased one of these for 180 quid exactly the same colour expected it to last 3 weeks. It passed its test and went all over the country for 3 years without any issues.

[@mikeh2006]

That's because beige is reliable

[@carlbarton772]

@@mikeh2006 yes mate always.

[@CameramanStuart]

As a lighting cameraman of some 30 years, I’d like to highlight Miss Hubnut’s absolute fab job on the camerawork! Lovely framing and keeping kit shadows out to a great degree! Lovin’ your work! 🙌🏼

[@roversteve8772]

Great review Ian, always quite like the look actually but only sold the Van's in New Zealand but sure there are a few imports brought in.

[@cambridgemart2075]

@@roversteve8772 Do you mean NZ only got the vans, or only NZ got the vans?

[@roversteve8772]

@@cambridgemart2075 New Zealand only had imported vans as far as I know the car versions not marked by New Zealand Motor Corporation they had many Honda models to cover this sector of the market by then . But I'm sure a few arrived ad private imports but not common.

[@cambridgemart2075]

@@roversteve8772 I see; it was an odd time where Austin Rover had competing Austin and Rover / Honda cars on the market simultaneously, but only Austin vans.

[@millomweb]

"Lovely framing and keeping kit shadows out" But the hair shadow was the give-away ;) A viking helmet on her head for the shadow scenes would be fun.

[@hoffwell]

Imagine going to your local car dealership and telling them "I'd like to buy a brand new, bottom of the range car, in beige please".

[@zenbudhism]

People today buy grey cars which is even worse

[@chubbyroyston3880]

Lol

[@skr525ia]

@@zenbudhism And they pay extra for it 😅

[@lmlmd2714]

Dacia literally built an entire brand based solely on the assumption that enough people would do just that ;)

[@hoffwell]

@@lmlmd2714 True that.

[@Ian-Steele]

🤭 “Didn’t mention the ****** diesel”, and standing by a church too ! Lookout for thunderbolts from Rudolf himself ⚡️😂

[@SPTSuperSprinter156]

lol'd at that :D

[@stuartjones8238]

Lost another mouthful of tea at that.........there should be some warning or something!! :-)

[@mattw8332]

We don't talk about diesels on another channel.

[@onesandzeroes]

Mentioning diesels in front of a church is blasphemy. Mentioning diesels on a car channel is even worse.

[@philhealey449]

@@onesandzeroes Sorry, but the cacophonous clatter of the parsimonious direct injection Prima amplified by the tinny bonnet singles it out for deep religious respect as the holy grail of Ultimate Deriding Machines, perhaps only ever exceeded by the legendary tractoresque Mk 1 Standard Vanguard Diesel ? Surely a Miracle Maestro D was a prime vicar's next car if he was losing the battle praying for deoxidisation of his ailing and wholly smoking Allegro?

[@EmilePoelman]

I must say this car looks better than all modern cars produced lately...

[@1911olympic]

Indeed! I had one and it drove great! It was very spacious and the engine never let me down. It did have it's typical Austin perks however. For instance once the driver-seat-window fell into the door and couldn't be cranked up anymore! 🤣

[@rogbrown1458]

Hate to admit it but that's true. Better than all the bubbles on the road now that seem to roll over at the touch of a button. Not Jenson. Rog. Pacific sunset.

[@1972dsrai]

Take those rose tinted sunglasses off then look again. See!

[@MrVexedviper]

My parents used to have a red Maestro, many a happy time sat in the back on day trips to Hunstanton and Skegness.

[@1972dsrai]

For tea and scones I expect? You had to be over 60 to buy one I thought.

[@TheMentalblockrock]

I agree with you completely on the small rear windows and side windows in modern cars. I actually find modern cars much more difficult to park because you cant see where the wheels are in relationship to the kerb and, the blind- spots!!!

[@cornishhh]

It's not only that. A lot have a flute which tapers inwards on a level with the mirrors. Your eye follows that rather than the lower body.

[@ollieb9875]

Can't see naff all out the back of our car.. it's got the soft top so the rear C(?) Pillars are even fatter! 🙃

[@philhealey449]

From an era before high visibility was exchanged for surviving the crash caused by not being able to see where you are going !

[@AmigaA-or2hj]

Especially the Toyota Auris and CHR.

[@TheMentalblockrock]

I have driven some modern Fords recently and I have to say the new PUMA (that Ford are advertising VERY heavily) is the absolute WORST in rear and side visibillity. Very hard to reverse decently into a normal supermarket parking space in that car and the C pillar is so thick it literally hides a motorway blind-spot that you can't see in the mirrors. There should be a recall on that car to fit blind-spot door mirrors.

[@shepshepherd]

I consider the Maestro to be a superb piece of late 20th century British industrial design. The very early models painted in light metallic colours particularly please me.

[@GuyChapman]

I think the Maestro is a seriously underrated car. I drove an MG Maestro quite often back in the day, it went like shit off a stick, and my sister had a car with the VW 3+E box which was bloody brilliant - economical, spacious, quiet and reliable.

[@firsteerr]

my mate back in the day got one of these from a BMW dealer as a curtsy car .he liked it more then his M3 which by the way was NEVER out of the shop

[@kawasaki5187]

Not a bad car, plenty of room, my mate reckons it was one of the best handling cars on country roads and he knows what he's talking about, we had the MG Montego for a few weeks (it's a long story) very fast and power steering !

[@rob5944]

As ever, once a brand gets a reputation (in this case good and bad) it sticks....

[@fruitychink]

Loved my Maestro . Reliable and underrated in every way .

[@skylined5534]

Seconded. Idiots were happy to bag these out because 'popular opinion'. I had a couple from a 1.3 to a VDP to a 1.6L ( which later got converted to two litre M series later on) and they were nothing but reliable and good to drive.

[@1972dsrai]

Its wasnt underrated, it really was meant for senior citizens who didnt care what it looked like as long as it did the job and was British built.

[@skylined5534]

@@1972dsrai After driving one... several in fact... they were most definitely underrated. Especially the EFi and Turbo models.

[@1972dsrai]

@@skylined5534 Maybe so, but they look like were built solely for pensioners.

[@skylined5534]

@@1972dsrai If you say so. Same could be said of a lot of cars. Say the B12 Sunny. They also rusted way worse.

[@tonysmith7825]

Love that A-Series sound. Hoping it won't be too long until my 1988 Maestro City X returns to the road for the first time in 13 years.

[@nigel.w]

Wow, an X ! ;-)

[@nickc4518]

Ah this is Hubnut in a glorious nutshell. A road test of a beige, base model Maestro. This is why I keep coming back. Great work Ian. 👍🏼

[@kevinf-b5065]

Back in the 80's I was an advanced police driver in the East End of London. We were lucky enough to be issued with an MG Maestro 2.0L which, when well driven of course, could chase down a Golf GTI from standstill within a mile (The Highway E1). Much better in the inner city than the SD1, small and nimble.

[@FairlyOldGit]

Interesting - My MG 2.0 was mildly tuned from 115BHP up to 125-130BHP - I always remember it eating Golf GTI's for breakfast!

[@briero]

My Mum & Dad had a 1986 (C202KOF) Maestro City X. I remember borrowing it once I was unable to select any gears. My Dad thought I'd managed to strip the gear box. All it was is there was a small plate that connected the far end of the gear knob to the back of the gear box had popped off. My Dad clipped it back on and it was all sorted. My Brother crashed in to a Siera estate a couple of years later. The Siera was written of. The maestro just needed a new bonnet and front panel. Back on the road for years more enjoyment.

[@alanlansdell7533]

They did that allot....

[@andrewnewcombe9943]

Right, loved this video. And not just because of the beige deliciousness of the maestro. With Miss Hubnut behind the camera filming, i think this channel just went up a level. Ive loved hubnut for 3 years now,. I think Ian is fantastic, but with Miss Hubnut filming and Ian talking to the camera, rather than Ian filming himself, and flipping the camera around to show us around the car, i think this video is one of the best. I feel more engaged by Ian, like hes talking directly to me. The exterior shots are much better, for example who an average sized man sat in the rear of the maestro with all that extra space.. Since Miss H was filming Ian, and the car in the same shot, it gave me a better idea of dimensions. I could rabbit on for hours, but to sum up, well done both. Much more of the same please :)

[@jonathanmahoney1672]

Yes indeed. And who is the ukulele player?

[@HubNut]

Uke work is mine - a little ditty I came up with while in New Zealand.

[@jonathanmahoney1672]

@@HubNut nice going, a man of multifarious talents 😁

[@AlanHood]

Oh the Maestro....I used to fit towbars back in the 90s, and I was brought a mint looking maestro, not old enough to have an MOT, and immaculate, clearly cared for. Those days towbars ware almost always a strap along the rear panel and a centre strut under the floor or wheel well. This Maestro, owned by a vicar, looked like it was just off the showroom. The owner was so disappointed when I told him he was towing nothing with that car, and illustrated how I could just poke my finger through the metal where the boot floor joined the valance

[@romac9516]

Hubnut reviewing a Maestro is like a log fire and slippers...perfect

[@YourLocalGP]

You're right. It is top hygge.

[@Bumper3D]

Having Miss Hubnut operate the camera really took this video to another level. Camerawork and overall great presentation aside, the Maestro is also a beauty. I've always liked the styling of Maestros and Montegos and I'd definitely consider buying one if any at all were available in Finland.

[@paulie-Gualtieri.]

Such Beige goodness

[@k1ckyscotland988]

At first I thought this was going to be a video from the Australian adventure Blue skys,Jebus sandals,no socks. It's freezing up here,snow flurries,normal springtime. Hubnut is hardier than we first thought.

[@HubNut]

It was a LOT warmer when I filmed this. It's freezing today!

[@MrTimcoronel]

@@HubNut replying from the southern half of Australia, it's getting a bit brisk. We do have actual winter here (in some parts)

[@k1ckyscotland988]

Most of our children have "Brisk" as a middle name. True story😥

[@kathyytube5660]

@@MrTimcoronel Yes, but we manage to have winters in our summers 😭😭😭

[@k1ckyscotland988]

It's snowing here right now!. West central Scotland. Wish I was Spanish. Living in Spain.

[@andrewgurney6019]

A car that makes me think, why? Only one thing missing on this video, socks with the sandals Mr Hubnut when dealing with a Maestro!

[@WaywardBobby]

Im 29 and I love this car. Beige is a winner! As a kid in 2000's id see maestro's/escorts/orions and all sorts of 80's cars being kept pristine by older gentlemen in estate driveways. i love the designs of this era. friendly and utilitarian with a dash of tacky-luxury.

[@greenzero3389]

Always worth watching to the very end 🤣🤣

[@BITTYBOY121]

I had one of these as my first car when I was 17 back in 1994. It was a pale blue 1984 B reg Austin Maestro Vanden Plas with the newer 1.6 S series 8 valve single over head camshaft engine and it had a VW 3 speed automatic gearbox that used to whistle in 1st gear whenever I used to take off fast from a standing start. It had blue velour seats/blue dash trim and that quirky older style (and much nicer in my opinion) 3 piece dashboard with that space age green digital dashboard display and that famous talking trip computer (in some woman's voice !) fitted below the green digital clock on the left (that also served to display mpg/fuel consumption and other cool stuff). I loved the walnut wood trim on the doors and the front electric windows it had not to mention the steel sunroof that always leaked whenever I visited the car wash lol RIP - B597UBV was a great car and I was so sad to learn recently that it had been scrapped/written off at the end of 1996 just over 1 year when I said my goodbyes to it ! (very emotional !) and traded it in for a black 1998 F reg BMW E34 535I auto :( If space wasn't an issue, I would gladly buy another Maestro VDP 1.6 automatic with the older digital dash in a heartbeat (if I could ever find one for sale !), as sadly there are not many of these great cars left now due to the rust problems most of the suffered from :( My S series engine in the Maestro used to always make some sort of toffee/caramel (yellow sludge) in the black plastic oil filler pipe whenever I pulled the oil filler cap off to top up the oil ! Happy memories of a great unique comfortable car that I'll never forget ! :)

[@robincook3367]

A friend of mine, well into his his cars, and especially ARG ones, owned an MG Maestro turbo. It wasn't fast enough for him, so he tuned it to 250bhp. Very rarely have I ever been scared in a car, but he managed it. The Bulgarian re-imports built at Parkway Service Station in Ledbury were re-imported by Paul Stoddart who owned the Minardi F1 team.

[@urbanrider403]

First 8mins of pure anorakism.fabulous

[@mpersad]

As you accelerated up the hill after that "tricky junction" I was transported back to the early 80s! Such a familiar sound from a whole range of cars that friends and family owned in the period. Bliss!

[@the.internet]

@@glennpowell3444 yeah me too when I was a kid. Always knew when a lot of Fords were coming - obviously a Fiesta! That boomy sound from what was it...the Kent/Velencia engines or whatever they called them. Nothing else sounded like it. I miss that sound a lot. Try and guess when a Nissan Leaf is coming, it's not quite as fun a game... :(

[@animal79thecat]

My sincere condolences 😄

[@O1Richard]

If only it had a Montego front end and dashboard from launch, I remember that Horrid talking dashboard that Renault got right but Austin failed with. Years ago I saw a lovely maestro van with a Montego front end and updated 2 litre engine. Now I’m in my 40’s I appreciate them more than I did as a kid / teenager in fairness they were no worse than many cars still produced in the 80’s that should have died 20 years ago.

[@Captain_Scarlet_SIG]

My brother-in-law had the top of the range talking dashboard one, my god it was a disaster when it inevitably went wrong and wouldn’t shut up 😂.

[@stiggyness1976]

That would of been the 1600 vanden plas model. I had a vanden plas in my early twenties, I'm 44 now.

[@johnj3577]

@@stiggyness1976 Yep, remember it well in my MG1600 which had that too. At least there was an OFF setting. Mine used to like telling me 'WARNING, LOW ENGINE OIL PRESSURE' at random intervals while on the motorway. Kept me company when the radio was broken though.

[@benday1218]

I notice your British car videos always do really well for views. Proves there's still love for them out there.

[@RichieRouge206]

Everything about that is absolutely fabulous. Beige, frumpy looks, A-series... wow. I love how the A-series always springs to life instantly on startup and of course it’s characterful sound. Made my day watching this Ian!

[@McSeahorse]

They didn’t start up instantly in winter when your parking space was on a cliff edge. Mucho salt spray. I must have gone through gallons of WD 40. 😂

[@dansmith6909]

my dad had the 2.0 perkins non turbo maestro, we towed a massive caravan with it all over the UK. I loved that car so much.

[@davidjohns.3065]

I remember being given a maestro as a courtesy car many years ago and thinking oh no, but to my surprise it was very enjoyable. Also it was some kind of special eco version with a gauge that you'd keep in the green.

[@660einzylinder]

I had an '87 500 City van, roomy, drove and handled well, and that little A+ motor was really good, and worked very hard for me! I liked the Maestro van because it was that little bit bigger than the Escort Mk3 and 4 that we had at work. I paid £1000 for it, and two years later sold it for......£1000.

[@daniellee9015]

Brilliant video Ian lovely old car better than modern and reliable not needing a full diagnosis when it goes wrong

[@peterjames448]

My girlfriend back in 1994 had a Maestro in Opaline green. We didn’t stay together but I have very happy memories of both of them! 🤪🥰

[@GTexplores]

Whenever I see a Maestro, I can't help thinking to myself, how close it looks to the MK3 Astra.

[@matty6848]

Ohhhhh Beige Maestro City spec. Very HubNut. Reminds me of first car a 1ltr Beige Austin Metro City X. Yes not Any old City it was a CITY X with brown PVC seats. £250 off a student, massive rust whole in the wing & the speedo never worked but got me to work and back everyday for two years and not one blip of trouble🙂👍

[@thomasalbrecht5914]

“Enough waffle” - man, that was impressive! A superhuman effort of reciting enormous detail on a car that most markets gave a pass without a moment’s hesitation.

[@liamhowell3848]

Both my dad and grandad owned maestros when I was a kid. My dad had a city, I think and my grandad had a Mayfair. I found them decent cars, I’d love an mg turbo

[@plym1969]

Hubnut goes from chips dipped in gravy (😱) to a car dipped in gravy coloured paint. Great review as always. Ian's commentary one of the best on KZbin. Having a camera person really adds to the video. Well done Miss Hubnut😀

[@jorgefernandez-mv8hu]

You brought up a good point that it is a fine line between what people need in a car and what a designer thinks you should have. That is a wonderful, practical car that could have been tricked out to appeal to different buyers if the manufacturer had the cash. The base is there and it could have been a very popular car. Nice job and the scalloped sides are a nice touch l think.

[@sambarker7930]

I quite like the styling on these

[@brianiswrong]

I always had a soft spot for the styling aswell, the wheel arches are very underated.

[@pablojones5613]

Certainly not the prettiest girl at the ball, but she has that certain something.

[@sambarker7930]

@@brianiswrong yeah, especially the front ones I think

[@sambarker7930]

@@pablojones5613 indeed. The rear is a bit...interesting, but overall I think very reasonable looking

[@barryshackson4005]

Had an F reg 1.3L Maestro, that had the 4 speed gearbox as well.. Also had an A reg mg 1600 too, both great cars. Great to see a Maestro again, thanks for the video Ian. 👍🙂

[@TheMentalblockrock]

I blame the motoring journalists of the time (1980//90's), they HATED BL.Austin Rover, had they just given the cars a fair review I'm sure we would still have a Rover company making new cars here in the UK.

[@HubNut]

To be fair, AR often didn't help themselves. I think the Maestro reviewed fairly well, but looks are absolutely critical. Volkswagen knew that, which is why they got Italian stylists involved with their first FWD offerings.

[@matty6848]

True John. Anything that had a Austin badge got slated right from the off, Jeremy Clarkson being the biggest culprit out the lot. His sly comments didn’t do any favours for Austin or later Rover..

[@TheMentalblockrock]

@@HubNut AR did do some of the same thing, after all, Ital re-styled the Marina as the ermmm, Ital.

[@richardsheil5289]

@@matty6848 Ah, come on, they reviewed crap because they were crap. Except the 2.0i MG which was good I think.

[@TheMentalblockrock]

@@richardsheil5289 Not crap at all as modern classic car reviewers such as Hubnut are discovering and showing us- that BL/AR products were just as good, if not in some ways better, than the competitors. AND some of the best selling and promoted cars of the time ( EG later Escorts) were indeed crap and the Rover product was better.

[@edgarbeat275]

As a kid I loved hearing the Prima Diesel Van's going thru town. Such a distinctive sound. B.T British gas and the post office. They were every where. I love the styling.

[@howard81]

I used to drive an ex-BT diesel van for a summer job with my brother in the late ‘90s, not long after I passed my test. It was knackered but was a lovely van to drive, fond memories!

[@edgarbeat275]

@@howard81 Remember those funky BT phone cards. 🙂

[@paulillingworth1242]

My late dad had x2 Maestros before he got a M reg Rover R8 , the first maestro (1984) rusted quite quickly the later 90 on a G he had lasted better, I remember them being quite spacious cars.

[@craigwilson9925]

I had a brown B reg 1.3L. l loved that car. Had all sorts of fun in it. The gearbox worked fine until the linkage started coming off occasionally. Me and a mate once drove up to Scotland from the West Midlands, and we were pretty deaf due to the lack of a fifth gear. The lower models had little wheel trims that just covered the middle bit of the wheel. I replaced it with a G reg Montego 1.6SL which was much more smooth and quiet at motorway speeds.

[@Mancozeb100]

Is it because I'm partially colour-challenged, or what ??!! I love beige. Why all this beige-hate ? Heck - it's not white. Or worse ... black !!! Buggers to keep clean ! Those scalloped sides were one of the things that I really liked about Maestro/Montego. Though, by that time, BL had lost such a lot of ground in Ireland, and the cars came tainted by Allegro/Marina pub-talk stories. Really liked that review.

[@andrewgardner9615]

One of my mates had a MG Turbo rarity in the early 90-Very quick and underrated.End credits music -Brill.

[@ianmason2296]

I had an MG maestro and Loved the way it looked

[@darren-cottageatelier8962]

I had an MG Maestro for about 3 years and a 100,000 miles, it was a brilliant car, and such fun to wind up XR3, GTi and SRi owners in, it was surprisingly quick and mine was very reliable.

[@randompete2204]

I had a 1986 1.3L with a earlier MG interior, I also fitted a Montego radiator I just needed to alter the pipes because it was a bit wider but the fittings top and bottom were the same, it was all I could find in the scrapyard. Worked brilliantly. :)

[@Zeem4]

My wife had a D-reg City X when I first met her, which she'd managed to purloin from her ex-husband for tax reasons. I went around scrapyards and fitted it with extra stuff like MG seats, walnut door cappings from a Vanden Plas, even central locking (which required the entire interior to be stripped out to fit the wiring). Eventually, my dad killed it by accidentally putting petrol in his diesel Orion, then thought he'd be helpful by siphoning it out and putting it in the Maestro - but the process brought a load of diesel with it, finishing off the already very tired engine. The valve seats had recessed, the rockers were all worn out and the adjusters were seized solid, so there was hardly any compression and it started backfiring through the carburettor. I'd have replaced the engine if it weren't for the general rustiness around the edges of the bodywork.

[@kerrylester8437]

My Friends Dad used to have a Vanden Plas Maestro, had a magnificent talking synthesis in it Trip Distance sounded like 'Twit Distance' hours of fun

[@stevedyer302]

We had a City from around 92 to 98, it was a brilliant basic family car that was cheap to run and cheap to maintain, it was never meant to compete with sportier models, it was just a good functional family car and was perfect for our needs, its one of those cars that seemed to become part of our family. Ours was much loved and never once let us down!!

[@neilgent1595]

Invited to the launch (after my Dad bought an 81 Ital) and sat in a VDP with the talking computer, oh happy happy days. My favourite episode so far and that is a huge testament to you Ian.

[@douglasfleetney5031]

Had a red 1600, pass on designation, in the mid 1990's. One of the best cars ever. It hauled two adults and twin toddles the length of the Country one Christmas and the back with all the gear in the new year WITH A SHOT WATER PUMP! It never missed a beat. Brilliant in the snow as it weighed almost nothing. My Beloved Boss Lady still has the spare key and still grumps about getting rid of it some 25+ years later! The fact that we traded it in for a Nissan Almera, a car she bent my ear to get for some time, still don't stop her moaning.... Great scenery Ian, camera operative is getting better, another good video, thanks mate.

[@Jaxs2]

Sandals Ian very optimistic, it's flipping snowing here 🥶 ..... I think you are spot on about the Maestro my mum had one and absolutely loved it , but it may of been the only thing that talked to her at the time 😉👍

[@mrfairsthename7470]

I had a white MG Maestro 2.0i years ago , thought it was an underrated car at the time , I preferred it over the golf and Xr3 and I drove them all , would love to drive one now bet it is still fun .

[@Lemonfizz224]

My grandad used to have a pale blue A reg Maestro, complete with blue interior. I remember going in it as a kid. Great video!

[@danielross7221]

My grandad had 2 Maestros both in white. One was the early version with the horrible Dash then had a British racing green Mg montego 2.0 which was a great car.

[@grenvillephillips6998]

The Perkins diesel was a thing of engineering beauty, with its gorgeous array of copper piping!

[@simon-b]

Oh Ian this take me back! My dad had a Montego which was a terrible car and in our household was refered to as MontyWontGo!

[@stuarthall2180]

The Montego diesel estate was a fine machine, much sought after years after production ended. Easily capable of 200000 miles

[@BITTYBOY121]

@@glennpowell3444 Apparently it was the "run-a-away diesel" where many Perkins O series derived diesels would suddenly become a runaway diesel !... emitting plumes of black/Grey smoke and refusing to shut down with the key unless someone lifted the hood and shoved a rag into the air breather pipe in order to kill the air flow and force the engine to shut down !

[@ethelmini]

@@stuarthall2180 I had a Prima that needed more head gaskets than oil changes. Though fitting one didn't take that much more time once I'd had enough practice.

[@ethelmini]

Almost certainly the stupidly over complicated electronic choke. Cheap & easy to swap for an old fashioned cable.

[@sightscreen66]

Back in '82, I was down in Southampton Docks helping a mate out with some engineering stuff. The workshop was right next to one of the storage compounds in which there were rows of Maestros awaiting export to Spain. The one at the end of the row, just the other side of the wire fence, had such an enormous misalignment of the A-pillar to roof lapweld that the rubber strip (and presumably the windscreen's epoxy bond) was really working hard to accommodate it. How that got past quality inspection I'll never know but it certainly made an impression on this (then) youthful observer.

[@golddalekwho5944]

My mum had a Mini City back in the 80's 😊

[@darrenwilson8042]

My Mate bought a Maestro City in dark blue on a C Plate. When he went to pick it up the dealer tried to stiff him out of £50 for each rear seatbelt. He didn't order them and the factory fitted them. He said he wasn't paying so they made him wait for the pick up until the workshop had removed the rear belts !! Imagine that customer service in this day and age? Such a great impression for your customer to get their servicing business and repeat purchases !!??? He replaced it with a 5 door Citroen AX 1.0 RE even though his kids were obviously growing - and yes he was a motoring masochist !!

[@BarryAllenMagic]

The first time I ever think I've given a thumbs up before even watching the video. The words 'Beige' and 'Maestro' is all that was needed. 👍😍

[@frglee]

If there is a Maestro in a museum in the far future, it really should be a beige one.

[@HubNut]

The Great British Car Journey museum has two Maestros. One is beige.

[@mattw8332]

Back in the early 1990s we were a 2 Maestro family. My folks had an early MG 1600 with the R series engine & my sister had a 1987 Mayfair 1.6. The alarm kept draining the battery on the latter. The MG ran OK from memory but suffered other quality related issues. Love the sound of the engine in this City. Brings back memories of Minis (had 2 of my own) and Metros growing up.

[@alonetogether78]

Had one just like this as a teenager, same model, colour and trim but on a ‘B’ plate I think. Love the detail you go in to, I always learn so much, some of it I should’ve known. Can’t believe I’d never noticed that the Maestro cars and vans had different headlights. I replaced my Maestro for an ‘X’ plate Volvo 343. Even as a teen in the 1990s I had Hubnut tendencies 😉

[@dennycrane-u1l]

I had a Maestro in the 90s. I remember once being with a couple of people on a trip away somewhere. Their cars wouldn't start in the morning so we had to use my Maestro which as always, fired up instantly.

[@ralphhowes]

Great camera work by Miss Hubnut. Excellent framing and rock steady camera position.

[@goingundersground]

My dad had two Maestros and liked them both, as did I. Always good to drive, although the headlining collapsed.

[@321bytor]

A beige Maestro...if only you'd had socks on with those sandals too...👍

[@paulie-Gualtieri.]

The Vanden Plas with grey leather beautiful walnut door cappings and the lovely metallic blue paint.

[@westcoast747]

The dashboard and the switchgear reminds me of my old Rover Metro City X which also had 4 gears, no power steering and wind up windows. I had central locking installed. The engine note sounds very similar, the Peco exhaust made it fun through tunnels.

[@runoflife87]

That beige interior kinda reminds me of early Lada Samara (84 to 88).

[@eggy1962]

Reminds me of my samara cheap n cheerful, light to drive.

[@iainf]

I tuned my Lada Samara-fitted a 1.5 onto the 1.3 gearbox & a Kent cam-thing had 102bhp. Quicker than a xr2 & Xr3i quick. Used to track day it as well. Then the Russians came buying them & it went for £1500 & I bought a escort turbo 😊

[@runoflife87]

@@iainf in Russia we had rotary engines too. Very light and powerful but not that reliable.

[@iainf]

@@runoflife87 yes so I believe & extremely quick. The Russian cops used them I believe.

[@runoflife87]

@@iainf nope, KGB only. Russian cops had conventional engines only because of limited resources.

[@jean-pierrejameselsener7049]

Ian, I simply love the way you put these unassuming cars into historical perspective thereby making them the very special cars they were never meant to be. Just brilliant!

[@aria_aradhea]

A HubNut video looking very professionally made! That cameraperson made this video very smooth! Love it!!

[@ianhadfield65]

One of my favorite things about these and metros was the illuminated stalks. All cars should have them !

[@CathodeRayNipplez]

Beige is the base color of HubNut !

[@FairlyOldGit]

I had three Maestros in my early driving days, 1.6Y, 1.6C, and finally G reg 2.0 EFI MG. All worked fine reliable and good visibility,

[@nico.c97]

A beige Maestro and sandals, oh what a combination!

[@Downstairsish]

Worked for a Rover dealer in the bodyshop when they were new.... The amount of warranty paintwork I had to do on those and the Montego was incredible. We always thought the robots suffered from bad backs...

[@ianinnes8063]

Gd little cars in their day . The forestry commission had hundreds of vans with the perkins prima 2l diesel . A very noisy but gd engine . The meastro allways put me in mind of a modern maxi . Thers a few still goin around but not many left .

[@flanners41]

An old girlfriend had a blue Maestro 'Surf'....drove it to the South of France on a camping holiday in the late 90''s. Mate at work had a MG Maestro Turbo in the mid 90's, rot took it. My Dad had a Montego 1.6HL in silver......love these vids on vanilla cars from my youth. Love the Bodiam Car Show in E Sussex as they have real world cars, Vauxhall Chevettes, Cavalier. Austin Ital et al

[@xxrs2009]

A rear wiper for 95 pounds seems like a good investment I reckon.

[@ytbandit1951]

...and 10 pence! So not quite the bargain you thought, sir.

[@xxrs2009]

@@ytbandit1951 True ! But we're talking English weather right ?!

[@fp4man542]

I wonder what the price difference would have been between the City and the City X?

[@xxrs2009]

@@fp4man542 an x amount of money I think 🤔

[@jamessmith6402]

I ordered a new Maestro 1300 with a 5 speed gearbox in 1983 but had to cancel due to unavailability and ended up with a 1600 Cavalier as much as I liked the cavalier I still wish my Maestro had been delivered 👍 thanks good video

[@TPerry2828]

Beige BL barges - this is what we want! ! 😊👍

[@Sieffre_Tawr]

In had a completely beige (antelope beige)Peugeot 305 same year. Was a great car with absolutely minimal electronics which I think contributed to it's reliability.

[@smoothmicra]

Beautiful car, beautiful condition. There appeared not to be a spot of rust inside the engine bay. Someone gave the old girl a lot of TLC...

[@touraneindanke]

My first two cars where beige. I “upgraded” the next two to light blue metallic. Both colors are absolutely not done today. Driving white boring s... now.....(more reliable) branded with a T. The “now i am older” was very confrontational dude! Your looks have no age (thanks for it). Have mercy i am from 1954

[@JS-1983]

Always liked the look of Maestros and Montegos. Looked those from local car-magazines annual catalogs with cars sold allover the world. Sadly those cars weren't sold in Finland, but there could be some those as grey-imported cars.

[@piuthemagicman]

Torille! :)

[@AlfaGiuliaQV]

We can always take comfort in the fact that we had Talbot Horizons with SAAB fittings and seats. The next best thing.

[@mctend9108]

They looked crisp on the pictures but had a serious quality and image problem. So you'd be used to them after seeing 10 Maestro's and their Bourgeois drivers. 😉

[@davidfoster1762]

Totally agree , great styling.

[@antoniopalmero4063]

My dad had on of these , also in beige. I remember him using a scouring pad to clean the rust sills whenever he washed it.🤣👍

[@TheVintageApplianceEmporium]

The fan speed control placement sums it up really... Bob: "Where shall we place the fan speed control Bob?" Bob: "Dunno Bob, where'd you think?" Bob: "Under the steering wheel so the driver can't see it Bob?" Bob: "That's a brilliant idea Bob!" Bob: "Thanks Bob" Bob: "Strike Bob?" Bob: "Yes Bob" Bobs: "EVERYBODY OUT!"

[@andrewpreston4127]

Round about 2002 or 3, I urgently needed a car, any car. As I passed a countryside filling station one day, I spotted a Maestro for sale. A silver 'F' plate ( 88/89) Maestro Mayfair 1.6, in silver. £125. 8 months MOT, and some road tax. Just the job. Must say, it was a revelation to me. After all the Top Gear-esque comments about anything BL/Austin Rover, I really enjoyed that car. Strong engine, quite quick, comfortable. Yes, very glad I had the experience of owning it.

[@strongandco]

The moving camera just isn’t hubnut but matching the sandles and trousers to the car is genius and definitely is. All that was needed to complete the ensemble was a flask of weak lemon drink. 😁

[@spankysmp]

Hub nut is the greatest of all hobbies

[@northeastrc2725]

Spent a lot of my childhood in the back of one of these such a cool classic car

[@jumpingjehovahs]

Fantastic as always, but as mentioned the recruitment of an Art Director has raised the standard even further. Could be a TV segment!

[@jamesfrench7299]

Thoroughly enjoyed this tour. A "you name it it doesn't have it" car. That expression was first heard when I saw a blog on an early Hyundai Excel (Accent) in Australia. This car happened to remind me of an early Excel in the back. I was impressed with the low loading lip and find the front quite handsome and the car overall inoffensive and contemporary in it's time. Thanks for covering an underrated model like this.